


Mushroom Swiss Cheese

by shazamitylam



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Minecraft, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-04 09:46:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18602020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shazamitylam/pseuds/shazamitylam
Summary: Sometimes you have to bear the losses and move on, but that doesn’t mean you’ll forget.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [unsungillumination](https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsungillumination/gifts).



> For my dear friend Renn.

“Goro...are you okay?”

 _I’ve never been okay in my life_ , he thought. “I’m fine!” he said instead.

Ann gave him a skeptical look. “Your eyes are watery.”

“They are not.” He blinked hard and sniffed. “I’m not crying.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Well, you said my eyes are watery. That implies-”

Ann rolled her eyes and held up a hand to stop him. He gave her an appropriately offended look.

“What’s bothering you?” she asked softly, and Goro tried not to sigh. It was...a tragedy, really. An unexpected loss of life. Every time he tried to care for something, it slipped through his fingers, just like that. He was so tired.

“My Minecraft cat drowned.”

“...Huh?”

“You heard me,” he said flatly. “It was an accident. I didn’t foresee it, and now it’s just...gone.” When Ann looked at him with the most befuddled expression, he turned away. “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

Before he could walk away, Ann grabbed his arm. “Don’t be such a drama queen,” she huffed. Her voice softened as she pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay. I’m sure your...Minecraft cat...is doing well in another place. What was its name?”

“...Mushroom Swiss Cheese.”

He could feel Ann nodding. “Okay. Mushroom Swiss Cheese is at peace now. I’m sure it loved you as much as you loved it.” She pulled back and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Okay?”

Goro felt empty. As much as he appreciated Ann, her reassurances just couldn’t get through the heavy grief in his heart. “I don’t know what to do, Ann.”

Ann took his hand and squeezed it gently. “It’s okay. Take your time.”

“I’m just…” He shook his head. “I think I need some time alone.”

She pursed her lips and let go of his hand. “All right. You have my number if you want to talk. And not just me, either. The rest of our friends are here for you, too.”

As Goro walked away, he wondered if any of them would truly understand.


	2. Chapter 2

“Have you touched the game at all since it happened?”

“No.”

Ryuji gave him a sympathetic look and patted his shoulder, but Goro just shrugged it off. “Dude, I’m trying to comfort you.”

“No one asked you to,” he snapped. Then he sighed. Was that too harsh? Probably. Ann would look at him with disappointment. “I’m fine,” he said, softening his tone. “I’ll get over it.”

Ryuji frowned. “You don’t have to force yourself, you know. It’s okay to be sad about it.”

“...It’s Minecraft.”

“So? One time, Ren came into my server and...well. My chickens didn’t make it. I was pretty upset for a while. It happens.”

Goro looked at him, confused. “Why would Ren...never mind. I didn’t know you played.”

“Yeah, man. We should play together sometime. You know, if you want.” He shrugged. Goro was almost touched by the sentiment.

“Thank you. I’ll consider it. Maybe it’ll take my mind off of Mushroom Swiss Cheese.”

Before Ryuji could respond, the door to the cafe opened. Futaba and Ren stepped in, with Ren giving both of them a nod before sitting next to Goro. Futaba glanced between the three boys and then claimed a seat at the bar. 

“Wow, you two are actually talking to each other. And there's no yelling involved. I’m almost impressed.”

Ren looked at Goro solemnly. “They were talking about Minecraft.”

“How'd you even know?” Ryuji sputtered, but Futaba started laughing before Ren could answer.

“Is this about that cat? You have  _ twelve other cats in Minecraft. _ ”

“Each of them means a lot to me,” Goro gritted out. Just because he had twelve others didn't mean Mushroom Swiss Cheese had been any less important. “Besides, how did you know that?”

Both Ren and Ryuji gave him a look. He didn't like it, but that was probably a stupid question. “...What do you want from me?”

“What makes you think we want anything from you?” Futaba shot back, and Goro scowled at her. 

“We just wanted to see how you were doing,” Ren said calmly. “Ann told us that you were upset.”

“Of course she did,” Goro sighed. “I’m fine. It’s just a game.”

“I dunno, man. You should see the way Futaba acts when Ren beats her in those old video games.”

“Shut it, Ryuji!”

That managed to pull a smile from him. “Ren, being better at video games than Futaba? I’ll have to see it to believe it.”

Ren smirked at him. “You’re welcome to visit anytime. I’ll kick  _ your  _ ass, too.”

“You wish.” 


End file.
